Destination On The Left

Brand Strategist & Business Growth Accelerator Karley Cunningham takes businesses from overcrowded, competitive spaces out into blue ocean territory where they can confidently stand out and thrive as brand leaders in their sector. Companies that want to be distinct in their marketplace retain Karley to sharpen their positioning and differentiation strategies to cut through the noise. Karley's inte...

Sophia Hyder Hock is the Chief Diversity Officer for Destinations International. In this role, Sophia provides thought leadership and strategic direction for designing and implementing Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) resources, tools, and services for association members and the broader tourism industry. Sophia has created sustainable social inclusion frameworks for over 20 years. Prior to...

Hannah DeMaio is the Vice President of Brand Strategy of Women Leading Travel & Hospitality, the sister community to Women in Retail Leadership Circle. Women Leading Travel & Hospitality is a unique, members-only networking group that offers executive women in the travel and hospitality industry a place to learn, connect, and grow through an unparalleled mix of events, content, and elite connectio...

In the final episode of the Travel Unity Summit, we ask seven leaders in the travel and tourism industry to share their thoughts on how the travel industry can make an impact on diversity, equity, and inclusion in the travel and tourism space. We're hearing so many amazing and enlightening conversations going on around us from a wide range of travel professionals who are doing some deep dives on D...

In the second of our three-part series from the Travel Unity Roadshow, we ask our seven guests to share their thoughts on how the travel industry can make an impact via the principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion. Rhonda's conversations with all of these leaders in our industry were truly fascinating, and we're excited to share them with you. Highlights of this episode include why we should...

In this series, we dive into the topic of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and hear the perspectives of leaders within the travel and tourism industry. My team has taken the show on the road without me for this episode, and I'm excited that they and you are benefitting from all the great information shared at The Travel Unity Summit. For this first episode in a special three-part series of D...

Jill Ramiel was born in Flushing, Queens, New York, and attended the State University of New York at Binghamton. While pursuing her master's degree at the University of Washington, she met Ken Alper, a fellow East Coast native and master's degree recipient. The couple moved to Juneau, Alaska, in 1997 and bought the historic Messerschmidt Building. Originally built in 1898 as a bakery, the Historic...

Bud Geissler is the Vice President of Business Development and Sales at Group Collect. As a brand ambassador for student travel and Travel Insurance, he recently celebrated 25 years in the group travel industry. Bud served as President of the Student Youth Travel Association from 2011-2012 and was the Chair of the SYTA Youth Foundation's Board of Trustees. Bud was also the National Account Manager...

Paulette Hicks is an energetic, passionate, and highly driven manager. She is noted for achieving results by executing solid and focused plans. Her 27 years of experience as a successful manager within the Saint John Business Community has been recognized by her peers in receiving the President's Award by Tourism Saint John and nationally with the Hotel Association of Canada, HAC Humanitarian Awar...

Marc Garcia has been at the helm of Visit Mesa, the City of Mesa's award-winning destination marketing organization, since 2012. He earned the DMO numerous visitor industry accolades and marketing campaign awards during this time. He was the catalyst for helping Mesa earn the first-ever Autism Certified City distinction in late 2019. Marc leads a team of 12 full-time employees focused on selling a...

Alex Michaels has lived in eight states and spent more than two decades in the leisure and hospitality business, punctuated by a four-year stint in the Navy that began Sept. 11, 2001. When he learned Michael Stershic, Discover Lehigh Valley's president was retiring after 14 years, the former Navy hospital corpsman jumped at the chance to apply. After a nationwide search, Michaels, 49, was named pr...

Sarah Imes is an experienced Tourism professional with a demonstrated history of working in the event, hospitality, and tourism industry. Her current role is Tour & Travel Manager with Visit Ithaca. Arriving in Ithaca for school and graduating (twice!) from Ithaca College, Sarah Imes fell in love with the area and began her career in radio sales before discovering hospitality. Two hotel sales jobs...

With a talent for creating special events that blossomed while working for her dad's car stereo shop, Nicole Mahoney got her start in marketing at Frontier Field in Rochester, and began serving as the executive director of the internationally known Lilac Festival. Later on, she headed the Canandaigua, New York Business Improvement District while also performing projects for the tourism promotion a...

With a talent for creating special events that blossomed while working for my dad's car stereo shop, Nicole got her start in marketing at Frontier Field in Rochester and began serving as the executive director of the internationally known Lilac Festival. Later on, she headed the Canandaigua, New York Business Improvement District while also performing projects for the tourism promotion agency Visi...

Gary Murphy is Co-Owner and Senior Vice President of Sales at Ama Waterways, and his experience in the travel industry spans more than 30 years. After completing his Business Degree at California State University, Northridge, Gary's early business experience involved positions with IBM, Group Voyagers in Europe, and Brendan Vacations, before becoming Vice President of Marketing and Sales for the r...

Carrie Simmons is a leader, strategist, and creative problem-solver with expertise in values-driven, integrated brand and marketing approaches. She is the Executive Director of the Stowe Area Association, outwardly known as Go Stowe, serving approximately 250 business members by promoting the Stowe brand through effective public relations, social media strategies, as well as and operating a visito...

Melinda Huntley is the Executive Director of the Ohio Travel Association, the only statewide trade association representing all tourism industry sectors. Representing Ohio's $43 billion tourism industry, the Ohio Travel Association makes Ohio's tourism businesses stronger, better prepared, and more profitable through unifying the voice of the industry for legislative advocacy, providing profession...

Marilee Sonneman Kostadimas delivers 20+ years' experience and acumen in corporate events, incentive travel, and destination management. An alumna of San Francisco State University, Marilee pursued graduate and undergraduate studies in Classics and Classical Archaeology. She holds credentials as a Certified Meeting Professional (CMP) and Destination Management Certified Professional (DMCP). Speake...

Coming down from Cincinnati, Marketing Manager of Ghost Coast Distillery, Kelcie Beausir, has extensive experience working in the beverage industry, including a recent stop at a winery in Asheville. She is so happy to now be living in warmer weather in Chattanooga, TN, as a part of the Ghost Coast team. Kelcie is a former trapeze instructor who enjoys adventuring with her dog, Charlie, and husband...

Sarah attended Cornell University's School of Hotel Administration and worked at a 5-star-5-diamond resort in Colorado, a 4,000+ all-suite hotel in Las Vegas, and an international restaurant company in New York City, all before graduating. At age 22, she was the Director of Sales and Marketing for a private resort in Florida. During a brief career in Boston, she managed a 220-seat jazz club in Har...

This episode of Destination on the Left is a little different from the norm, and that's because today I'm talking with Tom Ritter, Product Development Lead for the Niche Podcast Network. Tom shares why he is so passionate about podcasting as a marketing tool and why your podcast can help you build an exceptional professional network. We explore the importance of finding your niche, building an eng...

On this episode of Destination on the Left, I talk with Todd Stallbaumer. He shares his experience working to promote tourism in Oklahoma as the Consumer and Trade Marketing Director for the Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Department. We discuss the importance of finding your claims and how determining them can help you stand out. Todd also discusses the importance of culture and diversity and how...

Rhonda Carges is VP Operations & Senior Consultant at Break the Ice Media. Rhonda brings more than 25 years of sales, new business development, and travel trade experience to the table. This translates into great partnership strategies and creative thinking for our clients. Rhonda is a master at creating relationships, and her deep understanding of the industry helps her create win-win opportuniti...

Cheryl Kilday, President & CEO, Destination North Myrtle Beach, CDME, has contributed to the communities where she has lived through destination development, tourism promotion, and economic development initiatives. And she has an extensive background working with not-for-profit membership-based organizations that affect a positive impact on the local economy and quality of life. Cheryl joined the...

With a talent for creating special events that blossomed while working for my dad's car stereo shop, I got my start in marketing at Frontier Field in Rochester and began serving as the executive director of the internationally known Lilac Festival. Later on, I headed the Canandaigua, New York Business Improvement District while also performing projects for the tourism promotion agency Visit Roches...